I bolted upright, my heart slamming against my ribs, and Beverly’s eyes fluttered open, still heavy with sleep. Her brows furrowed slightly, as if she was trying to make sense of the voice pulling her from unconsciousness.

She blinked up at me, her brain still catching up, before realization hit. Her eyes widened, and I saw the panic flash across her face. “Shit.”

Another knock. “Blake? You awake?”

Beverly scrambled to sit up, nearly elbowing me in the process, and I barely caught her wrist before she could accidentally knock me in the face.

“I… Yeah! I’m up!” My voice came out hoarse, sleep still clinging to it. “Be down in a minute!”

There was a pause on the other side of the door. “Alright. Just making sure. Come downstairs when you’re ready.”

We both sat there, completely still, listening as his footsteps faded down the hall. Only when the house was silent again did we both exhale, our breath coming out in shaky unison.

Beverly flopped back against the mattress, throwing an arm over her face. “Oh my God. That was close.”

I ran a hand through my hair and choked out, “You think?”

She peeked at me from under her arm, a grin spreading across her face. “You’re blushing.”

I shot her a glare. “I am not.”

“You totally are.”

I was panicking, that’s what I was doing.

What I was not doing was blushing.

“Get out of my bed, Beverly.”

She stretched, unbothered, before finally sitting up. “No need to get all grumpy on me.”

I didn’t say anything as she stood, pushing her hair back from her face. But then she smirked, leaning down slightly. “Sleep well, Jurassic Park?”

I let out a breath through my nose. “You talk too much.”

“For the record, you’re a pretty good pillow⁠—”

“Out,” I said, pointing at the door.

Rolling her eyes, she moved toward the door, pausing just long enough to add, “Friends are allowed to cuddle, you know. I’ve cuddled with Tiffany, and nobody made a fuss about it.”

“This is definitely different.”

“Why? Because you liked it?”

“I didn’t say that⁠—”

“You didn’t have to.”

“Beverly,” I warned.

She laughed, then slipped out the door as if she hadn’t just spent the entire night in my bed.

And just like that, she was gone. Leaving me there, still feeling the warmth where she had been.

This couldn’t happen again.

It shouldn’t have happened at all.

I sat there for a long moment, staring at the door like I could somehow undo the last few minutes if I just thought hard enough. Like I could turn back time, make it so Beverly had never crawled into my bed in the first place. But no matter how much I willed it, the truth didn’t change. She had crawled into my bed. She had fallen asleep curled against me.

This wasn’t normal.